It took Gordon a long time to carve all the Qimian Tribe corpses on the ground.
Hayata also came to help at Amos's instruction, but seeing her hesitant movements, it was clear she was not yet accustomed to this bloody collection work.
Fortunately, carving the Qimian Tribe was relatively simple, mainly involving checking their satchels, without needing to skin or dismember them; otherwise, the young girl, who had just gotten used to the bloody scene, might have thrown up on the spot again.
Gordon's luck was still despairingly bad; after scavenging over ten Qimian Tribe corpses, the "most valuable" item he found was a half-eaten dried specialty mushroom.
Gordon rolled his eyes, threw the pile of trash aside, and only took the fragments of the Qimian Tribe masks as proof of completing the subjugation quest.
If it were just that, Gordon wouldn't have been too depressed, as "Qimian Tribe only have trash on them" was common knowledge to him.
However, Hayata, who was collecting materials from monsters for the first time, showed him through her actions that he was the only one with bad luck.
Hayata only processed two Qimian Tribe corpses in total, but it was these mere two corpses that brought her enviable treasures.
On the neck of one Qimian Tribe, she found a metal pendant, and after wiping away the dirt, she discovered it was a foreign gold coin in rather good condition.
According to Amos, although this so-called "gold coin" was mainly made of brass, it was a genuine antique, and selling it to a merchant who had a preference for such items would likely fetch a few thousand Z.
Just as Gordon was staring enviously and jealously at the foreign gold coin in the young girl's hand, Hayata pulled out a small raw crystal, about the size of a finger, from the satchel of the second Qimian Tribe corpse.
Even Amos couldn't help but look over.
He took the raw crystal from Hayata's hand, held it up to the sun to examine the internal patterns and structure, then drew his White Monkey Tachi and scraped the surface of the crystal a few times with the blade to check its hardness.
Finally, with a subtle expression, he returned the small piece of raw crystal to Hayata, saying with a slightly strange tone, "This is a dazzling crystal, or rather, a higher-grade Pure Crystal, if you prefer.
The only regret is that it's too small to be used as equipment material, but even as jewelry, its value is not low; you can keep it to make an ornament for yourself, or you can have your uncle find a jeweler to refine and process it, and sell it to those noblewomen in the city; it will be worth a lot of money."
Gordon: "..."
So this guy touched two corpses and gained several times more than the total reward for his mission this time?
Despite his feelings, Gordon had no intention of claiming these two good items for himself.
He hadn't hunted the Qimian Tribe alone; if Amos hadn't anticipated the King of the Gajalaka might appear and specifically joined the mission to help, he might have lost his life in the mountains this time.
He didn't have the nerve to demand treasures or anything like that.
But it was still so infuriating!
"Damn it, is this the beginner's strong luck?! But I didn't find anything good back then either?" Gordon mumbled resentfully, squatting silently beside the pile of trash he had discarded.
"Luck is destined by the heavens, meow; regretting it is useless, meow!"
Zhu Pa's low-EQ comfort had no effect whatsoever, and Gordon grabbed him for a rough petting.
"Pfft~"
Noticing Gordon and Zhu Pa's playful interaction, Hayata, who was admiring the captivating luster of the Pure Crystal, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
She whispered a few words to Amos, and seeing him nod indifferently, she trotted over to Gordon, who was holding Zhu Pa and looked as dejected as a giant mushroom.
"Senior Gordon~, this is for you."
Hayata smiled and slipped the foreign gold coin into Gordon's hand, "To the victor go the spoils, you know. I've always had good luck since I was little, so I'll share some with you~."
Gazing at the ancient coin with its subdued luster in his palm, Gordon first paused, then somewhat hastily stood up, ready to decline.
Unexpectedly, Amos spoke first, "Take it. It's a rule to distribute spoils according to contribution after a team hunt. Most of these Qimian Tribe were slain by you, so you should have taken the lion's share anyway."
"But the King of the Gajalaka was your..."
"The appearance of the King of the Gajalaka was an accident, unrelated to the mission itself. The value of that Pure Crystal far exceeds that of the foreign gold coin, so feel free to accept it."
Amos smiled and interrupted Gordon again, then steered the conversation in another direction, "The subjugation count of 20 Qimian Tribe should be enough, right?"
Gordon still felt a bit embarrassed but also knew it wouldn't be appropriate to continue refusing. He gave Hayata a shy smile and finally put away the gold coin.
Then, as if to conceal the surprise and shame in his heart, Gordon replied with a serious expression, "It's enough. There are fifteen Qimian Tribe corpses here, plus the previous nine, that's more than enough."
"Very good, let's prepare to return."
A subjugation mission with a one-week time limit was completed without incident on the first day, and Gordon couldn't help but feel a sense of anticlimax.
They spent over an hour returning to the Hunting Camp, rested for a night, and then left the Hunting Field the next day, hitching a ride with a passing merchant caravan to begin their journey back to Minagarde.
Actually, according to Gordon's usual habits, if a mission was completed early and he was in good condition, he would choose to stay in the Hunting Field for a while longer, gathering materials like minerals, herbs, and settlement items like specialty mushrooms, to maximize his profits.
However, he could also understand Amos's decision to return immediately, as the King of the Gajalaka was still alive in these mountains.
Before the Qimian Clan Festival ended and the King of the Gajalaka returned to the deep mountains, this area would no longer be suitable for Two-Star hunters like himself, or beginners like Hayata, to operate.
But he still couldn't quite figure it out.
Why would Senior Amos let the King of the Gajalaka go when he had an absolute advantage?
On the cargo truck returning to Minagarde, Gordon asked the question that was on his mind.
"I knew you'd ask that question."
Amos's expression became serious. He even specifically called down Hayata, who was lying on top of the cargo pile teasing Zhu Pa. After the two young people sat down obediently in front of him, he continued:
"What do you think is the duty of a hunter, and what should be the relationship between humans and nature?"
Hayata and Gordon exchanged glances upon hearing this.
Was this a theory class? A philosophy class? Or an ethics class?
"A hunter's duty should be to eliminate dangerous monsters, and as for the relationship between humans and nature, it should be competition."
Gordon's answer was conventional. Amos nodded and then looked at Hayata.
Hayata thought for a while longer and said, "A hunter's duty is to safeguard human survival and development. As for the relationship between humans and nature, what Senior Gordon said about competition is one aspect, but there's also coexistence, right?"
A hint of a smile appeared in Amos's eyes.
Clearly, Hayata's answer was more to his liking, but Gordon's slightly more aggressive philosophy was not wrong either.
At least in this era, where human activity areas occupy less than ten percent of the entire world, Gordon's philosophy was the absolute mainstream.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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